Memorable Summer Cup double for The Alchemy

Piere Strydom salutes as Louis The King gets the better of his stablemate, Killua Castle(JC Photos)

Sansui Summer Cup day proved a memorable one for Robertson stud farm, The Alchemy.
The farm, long regarded as one of South Africa’s top nurseries, proudly watched two of its graduates, Unparalleled and Louis The King, take top honours in the Gr2 Investec Dingaans and Gr1 Sansui Summer Cup respectively.

Between them, Unparalleled and Louis The King (whose joint purchase prices came to just over R200 000) amassed over R1.5 million in the space of less than five minutes on Saturday!

A son of Maine Chance Farms’ promising young sire Lateral (South Africa’s leading first crop sire of 2013-2014), Unparalled bested Equus Champion 2YO Colt of last season Harry’s Son in Saturday’s Dingaans, to win as he liked.

The gelding, who was sold for R150 000 at the 2013 Suncoast KZN Yearling Sale, pushed his stakes up to over R400 000 with his four and a quarter length romp in the Gr2 feature, and Unparalleled looks a really exciting prospect for the 2015 classic races. The first graded winner for young trainer Johan Janse Van Vuuren, Unparalleled is out of Sublime Surge – an unraced Elliodor half sister to former Gr1 Queen’s Plate winner and sire Crimson Waves.

Sublime Surge has been a wonderful broodmare, with her previous foals including the talented filly Straight Set (by Victory Moon). The latter was one of the best juveniles of her year, winning the Gr2 Debutante and finishing second in three Gr1 contests at two.

People’s champion Louis The King, winner of last season’s SASCOC Triple Crown, justified favouristim when running out a popular winner of Saturday’s R2 million Sansui Summer Cup. In taking top honours in this Grade 1 showpiece, Louis The King pushed his stakes to just under R5 million and also gave trainer Geoff Woodruff a second consecutive win in the race.

One of the best buys of all time, Louis The King, whose win on Saturday came to rapturous applause from a large Turffontein crowd, has now won or placed in ten of his 11 outings and is likely to challenge Cape champion Legislate in the 2015 J&B Met.

Sired by Storm Cat’s son Black Minnaloushe, Louis The King is out of the Rich Man’s Gold mare Pamushana.

While sadly Pamushana (dam of Louis The King) is deceased, Unparalleled’s dam, Sublime Surge has a really nice Twice Over filly foal at foot, and has been covered by Highlands Farm’s exciting new sire Jackson.

A really good weekend got even better for The Alchemy on Saturday. The stud’s broodmare band includes the well performed Empress Of Ozz- whose unbeaten daughter Lazer Star (by Toreador), won Saturday’s Gr3 Magnolia Handicap in the style of a filly destined for the top.